slides; slid
ˈslɪd 
; sliding
; sliding
1
a
: to move smoothly along a surface
The door slides open easily.
The firefighters slid down the pole to their trucks.
He slid the bottle across the table.
Slide your finger along the seam.
She slid the paper under the door.
b
: to move over ice or snow smoothly and often in a way that cannot be controlled
He slid across the ice.
Cars were slipping and sliding all over the roads during the snowstorm.
2
: to slip and fall
Her purse slid out of her hands.
The strap of her dress kept sliding down/off.
3
always followed by an adverb or preposition
a
: to move or pass smoothly and easily into or out of something
She slid into the booth beside us.
He slid into [=began doing] his impersonation of the president.
He slid the key into his pocket.
He always finds a way to slide in a reference to his new book.
b
: to move so you or your movements are not noticed
They slid [=slipped] out of the room when nobody was looking.
He quietly slid the money into my hand.
4
: to become gradually worse over time
His parents are concerned that their son's grades have started to slide. [=worsen]
Sales figures have been sliding [=declining] for the last three quarters.
The restaurant's new management is really letting the quality of the food slide.
5
baseball
: to dive toward a base to avoid being tagged out
He slid into second base.
plural slides
1
: a movement to a lower or worse state or condition : decline
—usually singular
The recent slide in the stock market has made investors nervous.
The book describes her slide into depression.
the slide in television ratings
(chiefly Brit) Her career has been on the slide [=on the decline] for a couple of years.
2
: an act of moving along or over a surface by sliding
—usually singular
The car hit a patch of ice and went into a slide. [=began sliding]
3
: a structure with a slippery surface that children slide down
a playground slide
4
baseball
: the act of diving towards a base to avoid being tagged out
a slide into home plate
5
: a small piece of film with an image on it that can be shown on a wall or screen by using a special machine (called a projector)
They showed us slides from their vacation in Europe.
a slide presentation/show/projector
6
: a small, thin, and usually rectangular piece of glass that holds an object to be looked at under a microscope
She sent the slides to the lab.
7
: a part of a musical instrument or a machine that is moved backward or forward
He oiled the slide of his trombone.
The slide mechanism on the machine was broken.
8
British
: barrette
Cite this Entry
“Slide.” Merriam-Webster.com Simple Definition, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/simple/slide. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
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